It's amazing to see how many Pittsburgh Pirates fans are staying home already so early in the season, but if you knew the Pirates were just going to end up losing to the Brewers again, would you go either? I still probably would, I love baseball, but Pirates fans maybe not so much. Monday night's game saw 8,482 in the ballpark, and tonight there were still only 9,775. Even so, I don't know where they were sitting, because it sure as hell didn't look like that many people were there.

Those that were there saw the Brewers extend their winning streak to an incredible 17 games over Pittsburgh, and I can not believe how frustrating that must be for Pittsburgh. Especially with Jeff Suppan on the mound. Suppan gave up his standard first inning home run, but then settled down a bit. His line wasn't great - 5.2 IP, 3 ER, and 5 hits - but he was effective, and that's all I ever wanted out of Jeff Suppan, so good work.

The Brewers offense was mainly delivered by Corey Hart and J.J. Hardy. Hardy singled to left, scoring Hart in the second, while in the fourth Hart and Hardy both doubled in runs to give the Brewers a 3-1 lead. Hardy added yet another two RBI in the sixth inning, and Rickie Weeks walked with the bases loaded to bring the Crew's lead to 6-2.

The Pirates would chip in runs all night off the Brewers pitching staff, but a 2 run double by Craig Counsell in the 8th put the game pretty much out of reach. Carlos Villanueva, who is looking very inspired now with Trevor Hoffman in the mix, came in and got the easy save to improve Milwaukee's record to 15-12.

The Brewers will now have a two game set in Cincy, but I still can't believe the work they are doing over the Pirates. Their 17 game win streak is the longest by one team over another since 1990, and there's no underrating how important this streak has been. It was a huge part in the Brewers getting into the playoffs last season, and it's been a key stretch in helping the Brewers get to a winning record this year. The two teams won't face each other again until July 20th, after the all-star break, so the Pirates have plenty of time to try to forget all about their struggles. Who knows, maybe by then there will actually be some fans in the seats.

Player of the Game: J.J. Hardy - 3-for-3 with 4 RBI and a run scored. If Hardy can finally heat up like this, it's going to be a pretty good May for the Brew.

(Editor's Note - I don't want anyone to think I haven't seen the latest twist in the life that is Brett Favre, and I don't want anyone to think I don't have an opinion on the matter. Those thoughts will be up on Thursday, and consider this a tease for this week's Winks Thinks!)